Ceremony of Awarding State Honors Held at the Presidential Residence on the Occasion of Independence Day

By decrees of President of the Republic Vahagn Khachaturyan, on the occasion of Armenia’s Independence Day, a group of individuals were awarded orders and medals and granted honorary titles for their contributions to the development of various fields and for their effective work.

The solemn ceremony held at the Presidential Residence was attended by Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, President of the National Assembly Ruben Rubinyan, other high-ranking officials, and representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in Armenia.

President Vahagn Khachaturyan presented the state honors and congratulated the recipients.

Speech by President Vahagn Khachaturyan:

“Today, state honors have been bestowed on people whose work and dedication have contributed to the strengthening of our country in various areas of statehood.

By recognizing your contributions, we are, in essence, valuing the work of those people who, each in their own sphere, have strengthened the foundations of the state.

Thirty-five years is enough time to understand what we have managed to create and why we have sometimes failed.

Our independent statehood has gone through the most difficult trials. There have been victories, achievements and progress, but there have also been losses and mistakes whose consequences we continue to feel. Mistakes are inevitable in the history of a state. What is unforgivable is failing to learn from them.

One of the most difficult lessons of our journey is that what can endanger statehood is not only a lack of strength or resources, but also the loss of a sense of reality.

When patriotism turns into patriotic rhetoric, and awareness of national goals is reduced to merely speaking about them, a dangerous gap emerges between desire and capability, words and reality, and political objectives and state calculations.

Over the years, this gap has at times become part of political thinking. The complexity of reality has been replaced by simplified perceptions, sober calculation by confirmation of what is desired, and a long-term assessment of the national interest by rhetoric that is easy to accept at a given moment, outwardly patriotic, but empty in substance.

This has not merely been a political mistake. It has been a problem of state thinking.

A state cannot afford to live in the reality it wishes to see. A state is obliged to see the reality it actually faces, recognize its limitations, correctly assess its strengths and capabilities, and, based on that awareness, formulate its goals and choose the means to achieve them.

This is not the opposite of patriotism. It is a mature form of patriotism.

Love for the homeland, national dignity, and fidelity to one’s history and identity are among the most important spiritual foundations of statehood. But emotion does not become policy on its own. It becomes a force for the state when it is combined with sound judgment, knowledge, political will and responsibility.

Today, the authorities of the Republic of Armenia, the Government, under the leadership of the Prime Minister, place at the core of their policy precisely the logic of acting on the basis of reality, prioritizing the state interest, and consistently strengthening the state’s long-term capabilities. The importance of this approach lies not only in the fact that it reflects the choice of current policy, but also in the fact that it should become a consistent standard of public administration, regardless of political periods or changes in government.

Holding public office, therefore, is not a right to place one’s own perceptions above reality. It is a responsibility to understand reality and, within its conditions, make the best possible decision.

This standard is particularly important today. Our time requires a statesperson who is not afraid to call reality by its name, who does not replace a difficult decision with convenient words, and who does not sacrifice the long-term state interest for short-term political convenience.

In this sense, the 35th anniversary of Independence is also an anniversary of maturity. We can no longer judge our statehood solely by what we dreamed of or what we wished for. We must be able to answer the more difficult question: what have we learned from our journey, and what kind of state are we prepared to build on the basis of that experience?

Independence was a historic opportunity given to us. Statehood is the everyday work of preserving that opportunity and filling it with real substance.

It is our duty to pass on to the next generations not only the idea of independence, but also a real, viable and strong state capable of protecting its sovereignty, ensuring the security and dignified life of its citizens, and building its own future not on illusions, but on its capabilities and consistent policies.

Today, by honoring you, we recognize your contribution to the creation of that state.

I congratulate you on the 35th anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Armenia.

May the victories of our journey give us strength, our mistakes give us wisdom, and our awareness of independence give us a sense of responsibility toward our state and future generations.

Long live the Republic of Armenia.”